Three children hurt when bounce house takes flight in wind

This instagram photo captured by a witness shows the bounce house sent flying by a gust of wind, seriously injuring three children.

Posted
Tuesday, May 13, 2014 10:54 am

The Saratogian

SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. -- Two young boys have been hospitalized and a girl was treated Monday after falling from an inflatable "bounce house" that was blown 100 into the air by a gust of wind.

The boys, ages 5 and 6, were taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where they have been admitted for serious injuries, officials said.

One suffered a traumatic head injury, police said.

A girl, age 10, also suffered minor scrapes when she fell, according to published reports.

Identities and updated conditions weren't available Tuesday morning.

South Glens Falls Police Patrolman David Gifford said the inflatable structure was blown several hundred yards from a small Ferry Boulevard apartment to fields behind Oliver W. Winch Middle School at about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The boys fell out as the structure was taking off, at a height of about 15 to 20 feet, witnesses told police.

Gifford said witnesses and photographs of the bounce house estimate that the structure eventually reached heights of approximately 100 feet.

"Luckily, they were tossed before it reached that height," Gifford said. "It was found hundreds of yards away. It came very close to power lines."

One of the boys fell onto a parked car after he was tossed from the inflatable, while the other landed on asphalt, police said. The one who landed on asphalt was conscious and talking at the scene, police said.

Gifford said the inflatable was a Little Tikes brand toy that is about 10-foot-by-10-foot, not a commercial-size bounce house, and was recovered by police on middle school property.

He said the bounce house was set up as a back yard activity for kids, not a birthday party or other special event.

The structure was staked to the ground, Gifford said. He said he doesn't know if the toy comes with instructions or if instructions were followed prior to its use.

The Little Tikes Company website says the toy has an enclosed bounce area that lets kids jump around "without worry of falling off." Also, inflatable walls and netting keep kids from bouncing out of the play area, the website says.

Moreau Emergency Squad and South Glens Falls Fire Department responded to the scene.

The Little Tikes Company is based in Hudson, Ohio and makes a variety of children's toys and productions. The company was purchased by Van Nuys, Ca.-based MGA Entertainment in September 2006.

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